Payback
by Karianasan
Summary: Something has happened to Fred? He better be careful, someone's holding a grudge. Romance-Frelma. Cute fluff story. Chapter 4! (extended to as long as it takes to finish writing it. Sorry for the delay.)
1. On the Job

_Darkness..._

_I can't remember what happened... What's happening..._

_I feel like I was being carried, but I couldn't focus on anything._

_Everything feels fuzzy... _

_I feel like I'm moving... or more like something I'm in is moving...._

Fluttering his eyes open, Fred's world was slowly coming into focus. It was dark around... Though it seemed more like night time rather then his vision going on him. It took a while for his eyes to center on the floating shape that was above his head. As his vision cleared, he was able to see the relief flood on the face behind the thick frames. Hovering over him, Velma was upside down to him... Or was he the one that was upsidedown?

Trying to sit up, Fred was pushed back down by Velma. Her strong grip kept him in place as he weakly fought against her.

"Calm down. It's ok. You have a fever and need to rest." Velma reassured him, batting at his forehead with a bit of cloth. Though it was hard for him to see what she was using. His head felt like it was filled with cotton, and thinking was hard. For the life of him, he couldn't remember what happened.

"Are we..."

"Like' we're in the Mystery Machine." Came a floating voice from up front of the van. It was hard to hear over the engine, but Shaggy was cheerily taking up the spot for driving, since Fred wasn't able to drive.

"Ah, the fearless leader is finally awake. Poor Velma was worried, fuzzing over you like a mother hen. She even sacrificed her sweater for you."

Daphne snickered as she turned to lean over the back of her seat. She had joined Shaggy up at the front and had been playing navigator since Velma was watching Fred. Wiggling a finger, Fred caught a bit of the gesture and brought his eyes to look at her sleeve that was hovering nearby. From the middle of her forearm, the sweater was missing it's sleeve and cuff. In trying to get his fever under control, she had tore off the material to use as a soak rag to place on his forehead. Catching her face as they passed a street light, she was blushing a bit.

"Well, it wasn't the only one that was confiscated..." Velma murmured in response.

Slowly bring his fuzz filled head around, (he didn't dare move too fast) he noticed that he was in fact covered in her sweaters. They served as a blanket to cover him as they traveled home from a mystery. Having use their normal blanket they kept in the van for one of his brilliant plans. Which reminded him...

"What happened? I don't remember anything after setting up the plan. I think we caught him, didn't we?" Looking up, he let Velma bat his forehead a bit more before she shifted her weight to dunk the cloth into a makeshift bucket for some cooler water. It was then he noticed that she shifted under him... His head was resting in her lap. Wide eyed, he wondered how long he had been resting like this. Her legs must have fallen asleep ages ago.

"The plan, like worked!" Chirped Shaggy from the drivers seat, eyes on the road.

"Yeah, for once." Chuckled Daphne, "We caught him and were about to unmask him when you passed out on us. Though the cops were understanding, we were able to finish up and get you into the van. We'll be home soon. Just passed into the Ohio border a few minutes before you woke up. We'll be home in no time."

_That must have been while I felt like I was being carried._

"Ah... Good. We caught him." Fred sighed, happy that the crook was brought to justice. But then his world started to shake. Looking up, he found Velma trying to hold back her laughter. Which was making her legs, where his head was, shake.

"What?" He asked, curious. That and he hoped she would explain and stop giggling. It was a bit too much for his head at the moment.

"You silly man. More worried about if the crook was captured then your own health? That's probably why you got a fever in the first place. Heh. Shaggy said you weren't sleeping too well. We can't have our leader overworking himself. We were worried about you." She paused, then muttered to herself though he heard it rumble through her legs. "... I was worried about you."

"Well, I'm in good hands. And... Well warm sweaters. Man, it's really warm though. How do you wear these things anyway?" He felt like he was in a sauna, but at the same time he was shivering. Which was probably why Velma felt to bury him under the sweaters.

"Well, it's more then just my sweaters... There is a little bit of, well, alot of Dane in there too." Velma giggled, pointing at the curling end bit of brown tail that poked by one side of his face. Snaking a hand out from under the mass of sweaters, he was about to free it enough to give the tail a light tug.

"Ruh?" Came the sleepy response from beyond the mass of orange. Fred could feel the weight shift unevenly as the dog slowly turned around. Arching up over the mass of clothing; the dopey, half awake muzzle stared at Fred for a few seconds as the information was processed through the fog of sleep. With eyes snapping open, the Dane finally realized what he was seeing.

"R'eddy! R'our ra'wake!" With a bark, the dog bathed his face with happy kisses, excited that one of his buddies was awake.

"Aw come on Scoob... I'm ok. I'm ok. Don't drown me before I get a chance to get all better." Unable to fend the hyper dog with one hand, he pleaded instead. With a bashful grin, Scooby stopped and laughed.

"Reh reh... Rorry."

"It's ok Scoob. Thanks." Giving the Dane a head ruffle, he was happy they all were looking out for him. It certainly made it easier to relax under the blankets. Seeing that Fred was ok, Scooby got off but didn't go too far. Snuggling up against one side of the mass of blankets, he stayed close enough just in case he needed something.

With his mind at ease, Fred relaxed against Velma's lap. Though it seemed like the lap was relaxing a bit as well. The tense feeling that was in her legs seemed to be melting, and he felt alot more comfortable. Peering up, Velma seemed to be relaxing her whole body, no doubt since she had been tending over him all worried. He had noticed, that Velma tended to become quite tense even though she looked more relaxed. A few times, he had managed to convince her to let one of them work out the kinks and knots she made in her shoulders from the work she did.

Bringing his free hand up, he was having trouble aiming it towards her, being upside down and brain full of fluff. But his actions caught her attention and she darted to attention. Hands flew up to grip his as she looked over worried. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and smiled, just at her.

"Thanks." He said so only she could hear. Her body relaxed and she sighed a bit, thankful that it had been just that and nothing bad. Pushing his hand further, he used her own hands to guide him towards her face. He rubbed her cheek with the back of her own hand, wiggling a finger free from her grip to lightly stroke her cheek. He was worried about her too, he didn't know how long she had been putting up with his sick frame.

"Do you need to move your legs? I bet if you help me, I can sit up so you can put your legs straight."

"I'm fine." She responded back quickly, not thinking about herself. Moving his hand in hers, he took the lone free finger and flicked her nose.

"Help me move. You need to have circulation in your legs. I'll try to move myself, I think it just will work better with your help." He started to move and she sighed. There was no helping it, so she looped her arms under his shoulders and helped to get him sitting up. But just as she started to try to move him the rest of the way, Shaggy hit a massive bump which threw everyone in the back.

Sweaters went flying as the three in the back reacted. Fred was thrown at Velma, who shifted her legs straighter to brace against the floor. Her arms wrapped around him to hold him from tumbling. Scooby, since he had fallen back asleep, flew a few inches off the ground and flailed wildly for a few seconds, tossing orange left and right before settling. Wide eyed, Scooby found the back of the van splattered with orange sweaters and now red skirts that had been thrown from the open suitcase that Velma had forgotten to close prior. It really hadn't crossed her mind that they might be hitting a bump and Scooby would have fell into it and tossed things everywhere.

"Sorry!" Called from the front of the van. Shaggy pushed a sweater off the top of his head that had landed after the bump. He didn't notice the pot hole till too late, and didn't have time to warn the others.

"Really Shaggy... Sheesh." Daphne blew a few strands of hair out of her face that had gotten pushed out of place by the few bits that had landed on her. "You guys ok back there?"

"Rorry... Ree hee hee." Laughed Scooby as he saw the disheveled Daphne turn back to look for them.

"Thanks Scooby. What about the other two?" A bit of concern inching into her voice. It was hard from the front seat to see past the second row of seats before the back started.

Like a tidal wave of orange, the two had been covered by the sweaters. Fred found himself after the chaos, being held in a light embrace. Strong, but gentle arms were around him, keeping him from sliding too far. He had been flipped over, and saw that Velma had tucked her head into his chest. She was still braced, wedging her shoulders against the floor and back of the seat, in an act to prevent them both from slamming against the seat. He was rather comfortable, but she didn't look so much. But in his weak state, he couldn't break her grip to straighten them out.

"Um... As comfortable as this is for me... I think you look like you could be in a better position." He said softly to her, not wanting to spook her from her posture and possibly hurt her more then she looked.

"Oh..." Looking up, it was hard to see her face too well in the darkness of the sweaters. But he could have sworn it glowed a faint color of blush before she moved. Pushing against the fabric, Velma unearthed herself before digging Fred out. It would teach her to not pack a few weeks worth of sweaters in one bag. It was a deceiving amount of material that fit in a small suitcase. Thankfully, her more personal items were in another compartment in her suitcase, or the whole back of the van would be glowing with a faint tint of embarrassed red.

Shifting in her seat, since she was waiting for a response from Velma, she turned around and went to her knees to catch a glimpse of her friend. One thing that was bad about so much sweater in one place, static. Velma's hair looked worse for the wear, and Daphne couldn't help but to laugh.

"Oh man, I wish I had my camera... Fred you dog. I turn my back for a few seconds and you take advantage..." Daphne wasn't able to finish her sentence when she had to duck out of the way for a rolled up sweater flew at her head.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Blake. I have plenty more where that came from." Velma said sternly, but the passing street lights couldn't hide the blush that formed across her face. Velma snorted and moved back to fussing over Fred, tucking several bits of her 'ammo' underneath him to prop him up. it was useless cleaning them up until they stopped.

Fred didn't have enough energy to resist, not that he had any reason too. Not much else you can do when you're sick. And he had already did something similar when she was sick, so it was his turn to be the pampered one. The idea was rather appealing, though he couldn't wait to be in his own bed. Nothing beat your own bed when you were sick.

Velma was muttering to herself as she tucked Fred in. It was the first time that his orange ascot didn't seem out of place, as his normal white and blue was covered up with her matching orange. She was distracted when Shaggy hit another bump, causing her to fall forward. A shouted 'sorry' came from the driver but they were a bit distracted to notice.

Fred was ready this time, instinct surpassing brain fuzz to send his arms through the sweater blanket and catch her against him and the blankets. Surprised, she found herself laying partly on top of him, with the only thing separating them was the layer of sweaters. Her glasses started to fog up, as his breath and body was still hot from the fever.

"Sorry..." He released her to let her shift up to adjust and clean the fog off her glasses.

"Not your fault. I fell on you..." She muttered softly so no one else would hear.

"You're nice and warm though..." Fred added lightly. She looked over at him quickly, but he was looking away. Picking at the edge of one of the sweater cuffs that sat next to his head with a free hand.

"Hm... Well... Logically the best place to be for bumps is the lowest elevation." She said, adjusting her glasses after she put them back on. Leaning back down, she laid against him, but more on one side. Shifting her body to bring it close to him. Sharing body warth so he could get better, of course.

"Ah, yeah. Logical." He said bringing his head back to shoot her a grin. He didn't mind in the least, and she was warm. Yep, she was warm to help him get better. "...Works for me."

She squinted at him annoyed for a few seconds before letting up. A bit of a pout crossing her face before she gave in, letting a small snort exit her nose, she snuggled against him and relaxed. He was sick after all, she would be a bit more lenient this time. After all, she had a few things in mind once they got home. Payback... He wasn't going to weasel out of it, not when he owed her one for last time she was sick.


	2. Fred on Fred

Fred was slow to stir as he fought to wake up from his slumber. The last thing he remembered was the fact that they were in the van, moving. But it seemed like they had stopped. _How long have I been sleeping?_ A groggy thought passed through Fred's mind. Peeking though half lidded eyes, he tried to see where he was and if it was still the van? But all that he saw was shadows. So it was either night time, or he was still inside somewhere.

Even though his eyes were used to the dark, he was unable to tell much from the inky blackness that was... where ever he was. Blobby shapes of something greeted him back, but none seemed to be familiar. Though the one in the corner kinda looked like a sheep... Whatever it was?

_Maybe I'm still sleeping?_ Fred thought, unsure if he was even awake. Pulling up his arm, he managed to work it out from under some material. _Hm?_ Using his free hand, he ran it down the cloth on the outside. A single, continuous piece of fabric met his inquisitive fingers. Well, that means that I'm not still covered in Velma's sweaters... Maybe I'm home?

But looking around was useless in the dark. He could stare into the pitch-black till his eyes hurt, and still not figure out where he was. Using his hand that was still buried under the cloth, he pushed against what he was laying on. It had a springy quality to it, which he guessed could be his bed. Wiggling his shoulders, he searched for a tell tale sign that it was his own bed. There had been a rogue spring that occasionally poked him in the back when he moved a certain way, and he was looking for that in particular to let him know this was his. _Ow... Yeah, I must be in my bed. I'll have to thank the rest of them for putting me here..._

There is no place like home.

He was able to finally relax knowing that fact. There was something about being in your own bed when you were feeling sick. The comfort of knowing you were safe, especially when the last thing he recalled before the fever, was trying to catch some bad guy in a kooky old mansion. Not exactly the best place to recover... unless you were a ghost or something.

Knowing he was home, he tried to push himself up to a sitting position. But as he tried, he noticed that there was a weight on one side of the bed. Curious, he sent his free hand to quest over where the pressure was. From material, his hand hit something soft and nice to the touch. Giving it a pet, it felt like fur to him. The tips tickled the inside of his palm as his hand ran across it.

"Oh! Hey Scoob, old buddy. Thanks for staying with me."

Thinking it was Scooby, he gave the head at rough scratch in thanks. But something felt odd. _Was Scoobys fur always this long?_ He dismissed the thought as his hand wandered to give a thankful ear scratch... when his fingers hit something that wasn't fur. In the darkness, Fred's eyes grew wide as his fingered traced the shape. It was thin, and moved as he touched it. Though it had almost a springiness to it. It felt like an ear alright, just not one that belonged to a Great Dane.

"Woof." Came the sound that should have from a dog, but instead had been spoken aloud.

"Wah!"

Jumping up in surprise, Fred slid up and out of the blanket enough to reach his bedside lamp. Fumbling against the switch, he finally managed to fill the room with light. Flinching against the sudden brightness, he brought up his hands to shield his eyes. From between his fingers, he saw who had spoken. Stretching up from the odd position she had fallen asleep in, Velma gave him a bemused look. One side of her head was mussed; leaving her looking a bit lop-sided. Against the suddenness of the light, she seemed to be rather amused at it all.

"Velma I'm..." As Fred moved to apologize, he moved just right to make his head swim. The room gave a sickening spin, throwing his stomach into a tumble. He was still sick after all. Slipping off to the side, he would have fell to the floor had Velma not dashed to her feet to catch him. Her arms held him strong, lightly and placed him back into the covers.

"Now now. No jumping out of bed mister." She lectured. "You're still reading a high fever, so not so much moving. It's bad for your health."

Pushing him under the covers, she made sure to pull them about him to restrain his movements. Though she was no where nearly as good as he was with this, and she knew first hand. He might have tried to struggle against her, but he knew he was too weak to do much of anything. (Which drove him nuts.) He hated feeling weak, what would have happened if they needed to rely on him for something? Nothing that might happen at home, but they had been on a case, and something could have gone wrong. What then?

"I know that look, think nothing of it Fred." She shot him a stern look, but it didn't last long. It softened as she leaned over and pulled over a stool that had a bucket with a cloth floating in it. Ringing the cloth out, she made sure it wasn't dripping too much as she moved to blot his head. He didn't realize how hot he was feeling, until the cool water touched his skin.

"I'm sorry it's pretty luke warm, but I kinda fell asleep before I could change it." Velma apologized, she would have to remember to change it soon, but it wasn't too bad yet so she could use it a bit longer before the change would be necessary. Fred would not have know, it felt really cold to him. _How high was his fever anyway?_

"But getting back to that look... You need to relax a bit more, and rely on us. It's the reason you are like this." She waved to indicate him in the bed.

"Shaggy had told me about how you were trying to work up the capture plan the night before, and were collecting the clues that we had the night before that. Trust me, I know how much time it sometimes takes to figure out things, but sleep is important too. We can't have our fearless leader passing out on us... again." She said with a small smile at the end.

"I'm a useless leader..." Not feeling well, he was also feeling bad about the mystery. And some nagging doubts were surfacing, like how unworthy he was to be the leader of them all. Sighing, Velma had dealt with this before, but she could understand his worries a bit. But there was more to Fred then he was giving himself credit for. She had known him long enough to know that without a doubt, but sometimes he needed to have things clearly pointed out to him, especially when he was sick and not thinking straight.

"And why is that?" She played along, knowing that it would lead into her argument, but she knew he would want to whine a bit before he might be able to be shown the truth that was always there.

"Well, take you for example. You work for NASA... You have countless patents and copyrights for amazing things that make people's lives better. You can write a thesis in your sleep that would baffle and astound some of the brightest scientists in the world." While he was right, she wasn't going to admit it. But it did sound a lot better when he said it aloud. But her ego wasn't in need of help, he was. But she was patient, he wasn't ready yet.

"And Daphne?"

"Daphne... Well she's brilliant in her own way. She has the unique ability to manage to save money and yet buy the most expensive things I've ever seen. She's running her own side business and also has a few patents and copyrights for fashion things that I wouldn't have even thought of. And even Shaggy and Scooby are amazing. I mean, the both of them can make practically anything taste good, or at least sound like it will taste good enough to make you try it against your better judgment." Velma laughed, because that fact was sadly true. Her stomach still isn't in speaking terms from her last escapade, but it had sounded rather good in concept.

" Admittingly, we all have our strengths. But you have them too."

"What is mine? I make ridiculous plans to trap bad guys..."

"That work!" Velma added.

"That sometimes works." Fred countered, shaking his head only to find out that was still a bad idea. "What do I do, that you guys can't already do without me?" So he had gone from '_what could have happened if I wasn't there_', to '_they would do better without me_'. Sighing, Velma was ready to rein him in; it was the fever talking anyway.

"Listen to me, you silly man." Taking his head in her hands, she held him till he made eye contact with her. Once she had it, she released him with one hand to blot his forehead again. She gently brushed his head with the cloth, making sure she composed herself before she continued.

"There is something that you have that the rest of us don't. Do you know why we always turn to you, even though we know what we are supposed to do? Sure, we can set up the whole thing, but it's because you are there, is why it works... Most of the time." She said with a smile, brushing some stray hair out of his eyes.

Placing a hand to her chin, she lifted her head upwards to think. Tapping her chin a few times, she tried to find the right words. "If I would find a proper word to describe it, you would be the 'Mastermind'." She said with a nod, which only earned her a confused look from Fred.

"Mastermind? How am I a Mastermind? I'm not blue skinned, nor can I make really cool brain robots." He paused, thinking for a second before adding. "Though I bet you would make some really neat ones." Thankfully Fred didn't mope for very long, when he did mope.

"Ah, that is a quip I hear! Hark, it's a sense of humor." She said with a chuckle, a thin smile pressed across her lips. "Good, it must mean that I'm getting through a bit. Yes, Mastermind... But not in the blue head variety. I was thinking more like Leverage-kind of Mastermind."

Thinking about it, he tried to recall the TV show they had caught before. Though he really needed to catch up on the episodes they still had recorded. But he remembered the general idea.

"So I'm an ex-insurance company investigator turned crook? Wouldn't I have to turn myself in then?" He joked, earning him a light bop in the shoulder.

"Sure, why not!" She replied sarcastically, before shooting him a look.

"No Freddie, I mean like he's in the TV show. Nathan Ford isn't as skilled as the rest of his team, but as they have shown on the show, he provides an important role for them all. He knows them all, their strengths and weaknesses. He is the only one who is able to see each of his team for who they are. All of them. And he knows how to use that to his advantage. He can pair them up in just the right way, that each person can cover their own faults with the other s strengths."

Pausing, she let the words she said, sink in. Letting it get past his fever and into his brain beyond it before she continued.

"You do that with us. You know how we all work and use that to your advantage, and put it into action. I mean, Shaggy and Scooby aren't the smartest pair, but when you use their running skills paired with my math skills, you are able to plan how things will end up. And you even know how to make Daphne's fashion knowledge applicable for every day mysteries, now that's talent!" She laughed, knowing that she would have earned herself a hearty whap for that comment... Even though it was true.

Fred didn't say a word, but tried to think about what she was saying. In part, it made sense. But he was having a hard time accepting it with the fog that hung about his head.

"Seriously..." She pulled his face towards her, to make sure they locked eyes. She wanted to make sure he was hearing her. And she knew that the others would agree with what she was saying. "We might be all skilled in our own areas, but only you know us well enough to use that for it to work. With all my brains and knowledge, I don't know what I would do without you there... What we would do without you there." She corrected quickly.

With her eyes softening, she released his face, as she realized she was gripping him to look at her. Turning her head away, she felt a bit embarrassed for doing that. Paying attention to the cloth in her hands, she dunked it a few times before ringing it out.

As Velma fiddled with the cloth, Fred was really giving it thought about what she said. She wasn't giving him empty praise, which would be unlike her if she had. But she admitted that he had a purpose. That he could do things that even she couldn't. He never really saw it like that. But thinking about it, he made his plans based on how he knew they would react. And a lot of the backup ideas, made sure to cover things that could happen... Like Shaggy and Scooby getting themselves caught up in the trap, or Velma losing her glasses and Daphne breaking a nail. These were all things he had made sure to think about, when he made his plans. He knew them, faults and all, and they turned to him to do what he needed to in order to catch the bad guy. What was needed to save the day.

"So, while you might not be able to drive mental circles around scientists, or run a mile in a few seconds when scared... You are important to the rest of us to keep us in order. I think Shaggy once said, your the Big banana in our Mystery Inc Banana Split... though he said I was the sweet and sour mustard sauce that goes on top. But either way, the idea is the same. Without our 'big banana', how would you have a banana split? It's kinda in the name."

Leave it to the guys, to make a food reference that worked... In its own odd way. Though Velma wasn't jumping to try their version of the split, she would stick to more traditional combinations.

"So without you, there would be no Mystery Inc."

With her lecture, Velma had shifted her weight to be sitting at the edge facing away from him. Maybe it had been to hard to look him in the eye and say such things, but she felt like he needed to hear this. And she knew the others felt the same way. The few times they had been separated for various reasons, it was only till they all got back together, did it feel right. There was a safety with her 'gang' that she didn't feel around anyone else. Not even her family felt as comfortable as she did traveling with the others. Like she could be 100% herself around them. They knew her faults, the things that made her... her. Blushing at her own words, and thoughts, she felt like she needed to have a moment.

"The water has gone warm..." She spoke fast, trying to make an excuse to leave. "Let me go get you some more..."

Pushing of the bed, she tried to get up a leave. But catching her off guard, Fred had managed to shoot out an arm and grab her by the sleeve. As she tried to move away with the bowl, she found herself attached to the bed. Eyes wide, she found herself caught. Following the hand that gripped her sleeve, her eyes traveled down the arm, and to the body that was looking away as he clutched at her desperately.

"...Don't leave." He muttered, but hoping that she heard him. She couldn't just say all those things, and then leave him alone with his thoughts. She had to take responsibility for saying the amazing and hard to the believe things she had said. And the fact that it came from her, was what helped it hit home. His face was turned away, afraid that she would see the blush that was practically matching her skirt right about now.

As embarrassed at her own words she had been, she couldn't just leave once he asked her to stay. Though, she found it hard to look at him as well. So it made an interesting scene, if anyone looked in on them at that moment. Velma was sitting on the side of the bed, looking away from him. While Fred looked off in the other direction, but continued to cling to her sleeve. Afraid if he would let go, she might leave. And there they sat, in the awkward, but oddly personal silence. Sharing a moment, that no one else would understand.


	3. I Hunger

Eventually, the fever had caught back up with him and he had fallen asleep clinging to Velma's sleeve. As he fell into deeper sleep, his grip relaxed and Velma was finally free. Looking a bit worn, she smiled as she took his extended hand and tucked it back under the covers with care.

Shaking her head, she snorted lightly. It was too hard for her to get mad at him. And having been sick and in the same situation, she knew that being alone was sometimes a bit scary. And since he had been there for her, she was going to be there for him. Her revenge could wait... At least till he was feeling a bit better.

Standing for the first time in several hours, she had to stretch and get all the kinks out of her back and arms. Setting the bowl on the seat that had been agonizingly close, but far enough that she couldn't reach, her hands were finally free. Fred's timing could have been better when he had grasped her sleeve, leaving her to sit the whole time on the bed with the bowl in one hand. Sure, she had been able to rest it on her leg from time to time, but it hadn't been easy with the bowl of sloshing water every time she moved.

_But it wasn't his fault..._ She tried to reason with herself, massaging life back into her wrist. _After all, I grabbed him first when I was sick._

With feeling coming back to her numb digits, Velma finally felt ready to leave him long enough to get other things ready. Turning to face him, she made sure to pull up the blankets and adjust them so he would be fully covered. A final brush of his forehead, reassured her that he was safe, and let herself leave.

* * *

"...!"

Pushing himself up from the covers, Fred woke with a fright. Heart beating in his ears, his eyes were wide as he looked frantically around the room. Breath caught in his throat, his chest tightened against the fear. Seconds ticked by as he realized that he was safe, and awake in his room. The nightmare that haunted him a second ago, fading into the wake of his conscious mind moving to the fore front. Relief flooding him, he leaned back against his headboard of his bed, trying to recall the dream that had shocked him awake. But it was like trying to grasp at sand, as the memory slid between his questing fingers and faded to where ever lost dreams went once they were over.

Taking a deep breath in and out, he gave up on trying to remember. Chalking it up to the fever and pushed it out of his mind. He was home. He was safe. Nothing to worry about here.

Relaxing against the headboard, he gave the darkness that was his room a look over. Though this time, his gaze was calm and could take in the shapes of his room without fear. It seemed like it was night time, though it could be earlier in the morning and he wouldn't have known the difference. All Fred could tell, was that it was dark. His eyes floated across all the familiar shapes that made up the shadows of his room; including the random one off to one side which always reminded him of a sheep. But there was an unfamiliar shape among it all, but he couldn t quite make out what it was.

Sliding out from the covers, a shiver shot through his body as his feet touched the cold floor. Making his body lock up till the sensation faded. His hands shooting immediately to his upper arms, giving them an unconscious rub.

"Brrrr..."

Pulling a blanket loose, Fred tucked the comforter around his upper body and hugged it close for warmth. Though if someone had seen him, he would look silly with the blanket around his head like a hood, drooping around where he held it on his shoulders. Shuffling forward, he made his way towards the new shadow in his room. But it was only till he was right on top of it that he noticed what it was. Curled up upon a chair, was Velma.

Having stolen his chair from his desk, she must have pulled it close enough to keep watch of him as he slept. Pulling a leg up, she used it to brace herself against the seat and tucked her arms around her knee. And somehow, she had fallen asleep in that odd of a pose. With her head resting to one side, it was propped up on her crossed arms. She must not have planned to have fallen asleep in such an awkward pose, as her glasses still rested upon her nose.

Looking down, Fred felt a bit bad that his fever was the cause of her discomfort, even though she was asleep. First it was in the van, and then it was as she sleeping by his bed side...

Picking up his hand, he stared at it in the darkness. Remembering the last thing he could recall before he fell asleep, was grasping at her and telling her not to leave. And gripping on what cloth he had managed to snag, with all the power he could had mustered.

"..."

Blushing at the memory, he hoped that it didn't take too long for him to have released her. Since he had been gripping so tightly, afraid she was going to leave him alone. Brushing the tip of his nose with a finger, he felt sheepish for saying such a thing aloud. He was supposed to be a man after all. But being sick made him do things.

_Yeah... It was because he was sick._ He tried to reason with himself mentally. Not wanting to even admit it to himself in his own thoughts.

Running his fingers across the blanket, his thoughts wandered a bit before his stomach rumbled. Looking down, he found himself amused at the sound. _Of course I'm hungry; I've been out for... How long have I been out?_ Thinking to himself, he wasn't sure how long he had this fever so far. But one thing he knew, he was famished!

Plucking the blanket from his shoulders, he took it in his hands as he considered what he planned to do. Shifting the cloth between his hands, he made sure to gather it up so that he was able to place it around Velma's shoulders without too much trouble, and get it around the chair without dragging it on the floor too much. He would have loved to tuck it behind her, but he was worried that he would wake her up if he moved her around too much to fully cover her. So his impromptu hanging would have to do. But before he turned to go, he noticed that one edge was sticking out a bit, which he wanted to fix before he left her in search of food.

Fixing the problem with ease, Fred wasn't as equally careful as he pulled himself into a standing position from leaning over. As the blood rushed to his head, it made his head swim and his vision blur. Pitching back, he lost all his balance and toppled. But out of all the directions he could have fallen, he tipped and crashed into Velma's sleeping form. As his body made contact with her knee, it shifted her whole body as her main support for the awkward pose was broken. Her foot landed on the ground with a thud, and her arms snapped to grasp the form that had fallen upon her, out of reflex. After all the years of Shaggy and Scooby jumping into her arms, her body automatically reacted as Fred fell upon her, and took his weight easily as she woke up with a start!

"... Fred?"

Looking down into her arms, she was not really expecting the feverish man to be held there. Here she was, just waking up... and Fred was strangely in her arms. And she had no memory on how he got there!

_Talk about an odd wake up call!_

But as a million and one questions rattled in her mind, bouncing off one another as they fought for precedence in her thought process, Fred's hungry stomach launched a complaint and silenced all her questions. In that one unconscious action, a bunch of Velma's immediate questions that she could come up with, were answered. And she couldn't help but giggle. At the awkward situation, at Fred's stomach... Everything! Fred couldn't help but join in on her addictive laughter, laughing at himself more than anything else. Feeling relief that out of everything that could have happened, this did. Heck, it was better than landing with a hard crash to the floor, and have her find him that way. At least, this was far more comfortable.

"Freddy Freddy Freddy..." She didn't really know what to say, but she shook her head either way. Not like she had to say anything anyway. He just laughed back at her, shrugging his shoulders.

"I can't help it, I was hungry."

"Shaggy would be proud." Velma mused, her smile making her face seem tilted as it pulled itself off to the side.

"Scooby too." Fred added, not forgetting about the perpetual hungry Dane in their mist.

"Yeah, Scooby too. Well, what did you plan to do? Just walk downstairs on your own? You are still a bit feverish." She said, shifting him on her lap so that she could free a hand to place upon his forehead. While it had gone down a bunch, it still wasn't fully beyond the point where she felt safe to leave him on his own.

"...Well... I thought the walk would do me some good." He offered, knowing that it was a weak argument, with plenty of reasons why it was a bad idea. But still, he was hungry. And the duo did this kind of thing all the time, so why couldn't he? But his reasoning only earned an eye roll and a sigh from Velma.

"Well, I can understand about being hungry. But I have a better idea."

"..."

* * *

Curled up and pressing into her as she carried him, Fred was thankful that Daphne seemed to still be asleep. Or he would have been embarrassed if she had found Velma carrying him, Bridal style and wrapped in the blanket that he had placed around her. While Velma had thanked him for the offer, she hadn't missed his shivering and decided to wrap him before picking him up to carry him downstairs.

He really wasn't too surprised at her choice of carry, since he recalled that he had done it to her. But it felt strange being the other way around. One, he was a lot taller than her. (Not that it mattered towards the fact that she carried him easily.) But usually it was the guy, carrying the girl in these situations. So he felt a bit off being on the receiving end, by himself. It wasn't so bad when it was the whole group being carried, but just by himself... felt more personal.

But it wasn't a long trip, from his room to the first floor. And Velma had been really vigilant of him as she carried him down the stairs. Making sure that she didn't hit his head on the way down, or any other danger. She was also mindful at where she gently placed him down, earning a wide eyed look from Fred as he was settled down in **_HER_** favorite spot. But she said nothing at first, even when she noticed his surprised look. She only tugged on the blanket and settled it around him to keep him warm as she would go to work making him something. But before that, she moved to get the fireplace going. To help warm up the living room, against the chill of the night.

Pulling the front grate that covered the fireplace, open. She pushed it to the side so that she could work on placing the logs without any trouble. Stacking a bunch of her kindling in the middle, she then moved to place two larger logs upon the sides, to frame the kindling. She then took another big log and placed it at the back end of the two larger logs, creating a kind of firebox that would push the heat outward. It would provide better warmth then normal stacking methods, and didn't use up any more wood then those other methods as well. Also the two logs were tilted in such a way that they were closer in the back then the front, also helping to funnel in the heat outwards. Not only does this increase heat output into the room, but would provide gaps between the kindling to draw air up into the fire to make it more efficient then a normal stacking method. And all it took to light was a long stick match that she settled in the middle of the kindling. And soon, Velma had a decent flame going, which would soon heat up the room. So she didn't leave him in the cold. Pulling the grate to protect the carpet, Velma stood and dusted off her skirt before looking over at Fred.

"I hope it doesn't take too long to warm-up, so stay there in the blanket while I go make something for that hungry stomach on yours." She said with a smile. But before he could say anything, she turned and walked towards the arch that leads towards the kitchen.

Sighing, Fred leaned back into the couch. Keeping a grip on the edges of the blanket, he knew that he wouldn't be able to fight Velma for his pride with being this sick. His body felt like lead, and he didn't have the energy to struggle against being taken care of like this. His ego would have to take a back seat... *GROWL* ... to his stomach. Looking down at himself, he had to chuckle.

"She's working on it. You'll have wait a little bit." Fred said aloud, talking to his stomach as if it could hear him. Not really one to lecture his own body, Shaggy was a bad influence on him and he got into the habit when it was decidedly louder than normal. But Fred tended to prefer a mental chiding in most cases, this time he just really didn't have enough energy to care.

So in order to distract himself, Fred moved his attention to the spot he was deposited. It was Velma's coveted spot on the couch. And with good reason too, as it took her countless sessions of sitting on the cushion in order to dent it in such a way that was perfect for reading. It slanted towards one of the arms, and had almost a cradling effect. And compared to any of the other cushions on the couch, this was was far more comfortable and soft. And it sat in such a way that you could be comfortable sitting in it, or pulling up your legs to curl your whole body into the dip. But normally no one was allowed to even look at the spot, let alone think about sitting in it. Not that there wasn't a plethora of other options, which he tended to use himself. But that spot on that couch... was Velma's. And here he was, sitting in it because she placed put him there.

'_Well, being sick certainly has its perks._' Fred chuckled a bit at the idea. Snuggling down into the blankets and the soft plush of '_the spot_'. With the blanket tucked around his shoulders; he was surrounded by warmth and comfort, an easy thing to get lost in... Especially when he was sick. With his eyes closed, he couldn't help but relax and sink lower and lower into the couch. His head starting to tip forward, helping ease his posture and drift deeper into the tranquil zen of her '_spot_'.

* * *

_I have been fighting with this chapter for a while. Originally I was going to make this only a 3 chapter story like Under the Weather. But that isn't the case. Well, I could do it, but the chapter would be far longer then the previous two, so I really didn't want to do that. So you guys will just get more chapters till I'm finished. Enjoy! ~Toki_


	4. Alphabet Soup

"Huh!"

Head snapping up, Fred looked about the room wondering just how long he had dozed out. But as he saw no sign of Velma, he wasn't sure if he had napped for a few seconds, minutes or hours. But at a glance towards the bow window, things were still dark outside. So unless he just zonked out for many hours, he probably only fell asleep for a short time.

Shaking the fluff out of his head, he tried to rise from the couch. Her spot was _too_ comfortable... and he was still hungry and wanted to eat. So that was the last place he wanted to settle himself. Leaving the blanket aside for a bit, he was able to pull himself out from the dent and finally to his feet. Although a bit shakily, he managed to pull the blanket up from the couch and settled it back on his shoulders. It was then, that he was able to consider his options. But the cold of the night made his choices very limited, and instead he chose to settle in front of the fireplace. Making sure that he left himself enough room away from the flames to not catch the blanket, but close enough to get the warmth it provided.

"Mmmm..."

And that is how Velma found Fred, a little while after he had settled down on the floor in front of the fireplace. Bringing up an accusing pointer finger, she wanted to lecture him about moving from where she stuck him. But looking over at him, he just shrugged and gave an innocent smile back at her and she couldn't stay mad. A roll of her eyes, and she pushed past it. He was sick after all.

Bringing a bowl into view, she made sure to make sure it was cool enough so that he wouldn't burn himself if he had tried to take the bowl from her in a hurry. She had way too much experience taking care of duo when they got sick, that she forgot who she was dealing with. And Fred was hungry, but not hungry enough to risk scolding himself just for a bit of soup. Thinking about it for a second, Velma looked at the floor considering her options, before eventually sitting beside him. Making sure to give enough room between the two of them, and turning to angle herself to mostly face him. Warming her side against the fireplace.

Picking up the spoon, she made sure to lightly blow of in before she lifted the spoon higher from the bowl and cradled a hand underneath to catch any errant bits that dripped. Fred looked at the spoon for a bit, before looking back up at her.

"What... no plane, train... or automobile?" Fred joked, though his hunger made him lean forward and accept the offered spoon. Even though she was not following proper sick person protocol. Which included being treated like a little kid, and baby talk... Or so his mother swore by. Which earned a sideways, bemused smile from Velma.

"Ah ha, a movie reference is it?" Putting the bowl and spoon down upon her lap, she pulled up an imaginary list and looked it over. "Ah, step 113, section A. Right on schedule."

Clapping her hands together, she put the imaginary list aside and moved back to the bowl and spoon.

With his brows furrowed, Fred tried to get the reference that he knew Velma had been making. But as he pondered it over, he had left his mouth open long enough for Velma to get another spoon full through. Which he yummy accepted, though the feeling made his thoughts pause.

"Is that... What kinda of soup is that?" Smacking his lips, he was trying to figure out what was confusing him. Not so much the flavor, but something about the noodles. It wasn't just your ordinary, long noodles. These were small, and funny shapes against his tongue. Fishing around a bit, Velma gathered up some of the noodles to show him. They were little floating letters, among the bits of chicken and veggies.

"...Blame Shag and Scoob. They said it was the perfect thing to make you for lunch. Though you weren't awake then, it wasn't that hard to reheat." Personally she was more of a plain Chicken Noodle person herself. But when you re sick, and food is offered, it doesn't really matter what shape it is in... Even if it comes in cute little star shapes Fred gave her last time.

"...Now you have to do something. It's alphabet soup! How can you serve me it without making some childish offer of something. I did the Mir for you." Fred pleaded, looking forward to whatever she might come up with. His mother could do it, he could do it... so it shouldn't be that hard for Velma to do it as well. Trying to put on his best pouty face, he shot her the best puppy eyes he could muster. Knowing that Scooby pulled it off on Velma all the time, surely he could too. But Velma had been ready for it. As she had done just the same thing when she was sick. She wasn't going to be caught off guard this time. A hand shooting forward, she was quick to cover his eyes with a hand. Stopping any move against her, no matter how cute he was trying to look, she wouldn't be effected if she couldn't see it.

"Nope, not going to work on me. I know how that works, and I'm not falling for it." Velma replied smartly, cutting off any counter he was about to come up with, by taking advantage of his open mouth and filling it with some more alphabet soup. Though he was cut off from commenting, it was a tasty defeat. But just in case he wanted to pull off the puppy eyed look still, she continued to cover his eyes with one hand, and feed him with the other. With the bowl sitting in his lap, among the blankets and his cupped hands.

Slumping his shoulders, he ate a few bites before protesting. Sure, it was tasty, but she was totally breaking sick person etiquette. A few prompts at his held together mouth, scrunched up like a little kid, Velma sighed. Pulling her hand away from his eyes, Velma was concentrating on something in the bowl. Poking at it a few seconds, she caught his attention as he looked down to see what she was doing. Spoon fishing around the bowl, it seemed as if she was spelling something out.

"...E..A..T." Unable to keep himself from spelling the word aloud, Velma managed at the last letter to get the spoonful into his mouth before he had a chance to reached. Puckering his face up, he had to give it to her. It had been a clever ruse to make him open up. So when the second gathered bunch of letters was offered to him, he spelled it out and accepted the spoon.

"...This..." And another. "...Silly. Man."

"Hey, shouldn't that be 'Eat this you silly man?' I'm just saying." Fred added, trying to find the hidden message in the broth.

Pushing the little noodles around, Velma had her face twist to the side in concentration. Peering at the contents of the soup for a bit before addressing his question.

"Well, I would have. But I have not been able to find another letter 'o' since one of the first spoonfuls." Velma sighed, struggling to find the elusive letter among the remaining noodles. No doubt there might be more in the giant pot of soup that the duo had made... just in case of course. But she really didn't want to get up and go looking, just for that.

"Well, you could always just have used the 'u'." Fred said with a grin. Which caused her to look at him and roll her eyes with a shake of her head.

"I refuse to use 'text speak' for any reason." Velma said with an annoyed snort. "If I am having a conversation with someone, I want to at least give the person the decency to devote enough time to what I would write out in response. Be it text, instant message or a letter. There is no reason for having to shorten it. If someone needs to write something faster, they should just increase their wpm or think about changing to a Dvorak Simplified Keyboard or a Stenotype for extreme typing."

"Wow... I must be sick. I should know what that is." Plucking the spoon out of her hand, he prodded the noodles to try to find the ones he was looking for.

"...W...P...M. Hmmm." Gathering the letters, Fred thought that if he stared at them long enough, he might be able to prod his cotton filled brain to remember what that stood for. Mouthing the letters, as if that for aid in his recollection. Softening her look, she didn't mean to get on a small rant. Though it had been hard to resist, since he had been acting rather normal for the most part, forgetting for a moment that he was still sick.

"Words per minute." Velma said lightly, taking the spoon from him and gathered some broth to continue to feed him.

"Ah, that's right. I should have remembered that. But I understand." He said nodding, though the motion he immediately regretted. Making his vision swim with the sudden movement. "... I totally couldn't find an 'o' letter. Which makes it hard to spell OMGMph!"

Not letting him finish his statement, Velma used the filled spoon to cut off his sentence with a skilled motion. Which only made him grin back at her. But he behaved, taking several more offered bites before she put down the spoon and started to take the mostly empty bowl from his lap. He only made an 'aw' complaint before he released the bowl. Though he had been surprised at how much he had actually ate, taking a glance into the drained bowl as she took it away and got up.

"Stay here. I'll be right back."

Lifting a finger to complain, he stopped as she wandered to put the bowl away in the kitchen. Grumbling for a second, he slumped into the blanket that was wrapped around him in silent, grumpy protest. But the more he thought about it, it had probably been for the best that she had taken it when she did. After all, he really didn't want to get sick on top of feeling woozy. He was in the process of getting better, not making himself worse. '_Curse her for doing a good job taking care of me_.' He chuckled to himself. '_... still. I can't just let her get away with that... Hmmm..._' Placing a hand to his chin, he shifted his thoughts to something a bit more diabolical... To take full advantage of being sick.

Well, as long as there was no mystery to be had. And he could take his time to recover.


End file.
